Robin soars to top of garden list
FOR many people, the attractive little robin is a wonderful winter sight as it hops around the garden in search of food.
Happily, the chances of seeing a robin this Christmas are almost guaranteed as they have topped the table of most common national birds once again.
The robin, with its distinctive red breast, was seen in 99.5% of the gardens last winter according to the latest BirdWatch Ireland garden bird survey.
Known for its common association with Christmas and its religious symbolism, the small bird also has a reputation for feistily guarding its territory.
The robin has been the No.1 bird for 19 out of the 23 years in which the survey has taken place, losing its top ranking only on a few occasions to the blackbird and blue tit.
Last winter the top five garden birds list was completed by the blackbird (seen in 98.5% of gardens), blue tit (97.7%), chaffinch (94.7%) and great tit (94%) – the same order as the previous winter.
But the results from the 2016/2017 survey of 667 Irish gardens also show the biggest decline in finch numbers in 12 years.
BirdWatch Ireland conservation team member Brian Burke said the decline was so stark that many people contacted the organisation last winter ‘wondering where their finches had gone’.
However, bird enthusiasts need not have worried as the absence was merely due to an abundance of food in the wild.
‘Last winter was mild through- out and there was an abundance of food in the wider countryside, so flocks [of finches] simply had more choice and were less reliant on garden feeders as a result,’ said Mr Burke, who analysed the results for the charity’s eWings newsletter.
The survey also showed that the only bird of prey to feature in the top 30 was the sparrowhawk. It was also a good year for the colourful Scandinavian visitor the waxwing. It was noted in 16 counties, mainly from mid-January 2017, due to a bumper crop of red berries in the countryside.
The organisation’s garden bird survey for 2017/2018 gets under way on December 4.
See www.BirdWatchIreland.ie for further details.
Spotted in 99.5% of gardens